Deputies who saved overdose victim, run over during chase, among those honored

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Licking County SheriffÕs Office Corrections Officer Jason Hopkins shows his daughters Makaylee, 16, and Madison, 13, where on his uniform he will wear his silver star. Hopkins was awards the silver star for saving the life of an inmate at the Licking County Justice Center. The Licking County Sheriff's Office held their annual awards ceremony on Monday, July 16, 2018 at the Licking County Court House. Sara C. Tobias, Sara C. Tobias/The Advocate

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Licking County SheriffÕs Office Corrections Officer Jason Hopkins shows his daughters Makaylee, 16, and Madison, 13, where on his uniform he will wear his silver star. Hopkins was awards the silver star for saving the life of an inmate at the Licking County Justice Center. The Licking County Sheriff's Office held their annual awards ceremony on Monday, July 16, 2018 at the Licking County Court House.(Photo11: Sara C. Tobias, Sara C. Tobias/The Advocate)Buy Photo

On Monday, The Licking County Sheriff's Office held their annual awards ceremony.

"This is a day for us to celebrate and honor those people and organizations in our community that have served above and beyond what's expected of them," said Sheriff Randy Thorp.

Over twenty officers were honored during this event, some for removing dangerous drugs from the streets, others for apprehending criminals.

Perhaps the most notable awards, though, were the Bronze and Silver Star award.

"The Bronze and Bronze are very special awards that an officer can receive," said Thorp. The Bronze Star award is granted to officers wounded in the line of duty, while the Silver Star is award to officers whose actions save an individual's life.

Sergeant Jeffrey Miller was awarded the Bronze Star award for his work in apprehending a known felon, even as he sustained a serious injury to his leg.

Miller was involved in a chase with a suspect, who had an active arrest warrant against him, when the suspect lost control of his truck. Miller exited his cruiser to confront the driver, when the truck accelerated again. Though he fired his weapon in self-defense, Miller was knocked down and his lower half driven over.

Because of Miller's efforts though, another cruiser made it to the scene in time to arrest the suspect and get help for Miller. Deputies wished Miller a speedy recovery as he received his plaque.

There were two recipients of the life-saving Silver Star award.

On Aug. 17th, Correctional Officer Jason Hopkins found an inmate in his cell, hanging from a sheet tied around his neck. Hopkins cut down the inmate, who was unresponsive and not breathing, and administered CPR. The inmate began breathing again shortly after.

Without Hopkins, the inmate likely would've perished in his cell.

The second recipient of the Silver Star award is Deputy Doug Moore, who is credited for saving an overdose victim. On June 19th, Moore responded to an overdose call, where he found an unconscious man. He was unable to find the man's pulse. He began CPR and, upon hearing of the man's drug history, called the medics to administer Narcan.

By the time the medics arrived, the man had a confirmed pulse. Had Moore not administered CPR, the victim might've died before the life-saving drug arrived.